


Block-Out

by WildCard4505



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, Like learn to read the room, M/M, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Please help Tsukishima, Protective Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei has trust issues, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Yamaguchi Tadashi is So Done, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildCard4505/pseuds/WildCard4505
Summary: Tsukishima knows one of the definitions of the term Block-out. When a spiker hits off a block and the ball goes out of bounds scoring the point. He forgot that there's a secondary definition, one that he'd be a great example for.Blocking-out the world and emotions.Hopefully his friends can show him the truth soon.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kuroo Tetsurou & Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 81





	Block-Out

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick one-shot I thought up last night! Hope you guys enjoy! (When did I start writing so much Haikyuu???) 
> 
> P.S. Each of those lines signals a change in perspective. Hopefully the person it changes too makes sense when you read it.
> 
> P.P.S They're a bonus at the end notes you should read after the fic. It wasn't enough to create a sequel and I liked the way this ended to much to tack it on the actual one-shot.

Tsukishima had a splitting headache he refused to acknowledge. All that would get him was a scolding look from Yamaguchi. To be fair, he did tell him to eat lunch. But the headache made it hard for him to focus and to time his blocks. He knew his performance was sub-par, and when you're playing a practice game against Nekoma your blocks have to be perfect. Tsukishima scowled as another ball blew through his block and out of bounds. 

* * *

Kuroo didn’t cheer with the rest of his team after the point. He was too focused on the middle blocker who’s condition seemed to worsen with every set they played. Tsukishima didn’t even notice his gaze as he frowned at the floor. Kuroo looked over to the sideline of Karasuno's team. He learned rather quickly that no one knew more about Tsukishima than Yamaguchi. When he looked over, however, he was met with the same concerned frown on the freckled boy's face. They turned back to the game, both keeping a closer eye on the blonde. Kuroo didn’t take it easy on him, that he would notice for sure, but he couldn’t help but get more concerned with every mistimed jump he made. He saw Daichi’s captain's intuition turn on at the same time as his. It was a relief that he noticed as well and with one meaningful look, Karasuno took their first time out. 

* * *

Yamaguchi walked directly to Tsukishima who was standing on the outside of the circle. He brought him a water bottle that he drank greedily and with a thank you. As Tsukishima listened to the coach, Yamaguchi ran his mental checklist. Everything seemed to be fine until he got to one condition. Tsukishima didn’t eat lunch. He looked at his friend's face and saw the way he scrunched his eyes up like he was trying to block out some of the light. He didn’t eat lunch and now he has a headache. Yamaguchi sighed audibly, drawing the attention of Tsukishima. Yamaguchi narrowed his eyes in return. 

‘I told you so’ He thought. The message seemed to have been received if the way Tsukishima rolled his eyes was any indication (It was). Even so, the timeout ended with nothing more than some encouragement from one team member to the next. If anything, Hinata’s “Don’t mind” to Tsukishima seemed to light a fire under him. 

Yamaguchi frowned as Tsukishima got more and more frustrated with himself. He could see the fire still but his body couldn’t keep up. Now he always got up to jump, almost always got a one touch. To everyone else it looked like he was just starting to get in the groove. But Yamaguchi saw the way he let out a breath after each block and the way he flinched after hitting the floor. He saw the way Kuroo's eyes narrowed and knew he was picking up the same things. 

And then Tsukishima was late to block. Not late like ‘The ball went over my hand’. No, By the time he jumped the spiker had already hit the ball and it began to sail over the net. Yamaguchi saw the look on Tsukishima's face only briefly before he schooled it in it’s normal frown. The disappointment and self hate he saw before that nearly knocked him off his feet. 

* * *

  
  


“What’s wrong with you today!” Kageyama yelled. Tsukishima resisted the urge to glare at him. His head was pounding and he knew. He knew he should have made that block. He probably could have shut it down. 

“Hear we go” He whispered underneath his breath. He was waiting to get yelled at. He knew if you performed the way he was, you’d get called out. He half expected it to be Hinata rather than Kageyama. He shouldn’t be surprised though.

“What was that!” Kageyama yelled in return. He saw the other jump slightly and Takeda asked for a timeout. The setter stomped towards him, the noise made his head ache but he refused to show it.

“Finally decide volleyball’s to go for you huh!” He was right in Tsukishima’s face but he didn’t back down. He vaguely heard Yamaguchi stomp up next to him. He forced his face into a glare. Half of him hoped, however unrealistic it might be, that if he walled up his emotions, the words would stop getting through. 

“Well if you're so determined not to play how about you sit out so someone who actually wants to can hit the ball!” That made him freeze. He lost control of his expression and turned away before anyone noticed. Of course most of the team noticed and the whole gym seemed to quiet. He scoffed and left the gym quickly. The room was suffocating him. He realized that this was how it ended. He’d be benched for the rest of the season. Maybe it was for the best. A stronger player could do better than Tsukishima’s best. They could help the team win. It made sense strategically. So why did the concept of it seem so bitter. It wasn’t like staying on the team would do him any good. But why did the idea of watching someone else complete his failed blocks make him feel so heartbroken.

“Then do it.” He yelled back, not glancing at the others before he left the gym. The words hurt to say but anything else would have had the whole team chasing after him. Instead he only heard two pairs of footprints follow him. He figured one was Yamaguchi, the other he had no clue. He tried to walk faster to lose them but they just picked up pace in return.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi. Of course.

“Tsukishima!” The second voice actually had him turning around. The black hair confirmed his suspicions. He even had his bag with him.

“Shouldn’t you be with your teams.” He forced all of his emotions out of his voice. He looked to Yamaguchi as well. Maybe he could convince them to go away. Yamaguchi’s frown deepened when he said “your teams”. 

“I should be with my friend.” Yamaguchi said resolutely. Kuroo nodded as well. He knew it was a long shot.

“Besides it’s not like the game can go on with a player missing.” Kuroo tried to joke but it fell flat on his ears. 

“Someone better can just sub for me.” He turned back away, wishing desperately he could stick his hands in his pockets or pull on his headphones. He didn’t have either of those things right now. He started walking away again and when footsteps didn’t follow him he thought they finally understood. Suddenly, his arm was being grabbed and he was dragged up the stairs toward the club room. 

“Y-Yams!” He exclaimed, tripping over his feet. Once his arm was released he was sitting in a chair in the cluttered clubroom. He blinked a few times to process what had happened. He realized idly that if anything, the commotion had made him forget about his headache. Of course that thought brought it back to the forefront of his mind. 

“Sorry Tsukki...” Yamaguchi said, noticing the way he winced. He sounded sympathetic as always. Kuroo, who had apparently followed them up and did nothing to stop Yamaguchi, looked at the interaction with confusion. 

“Okay first, What's going on with you?” He asked and the sarcastic part of his brain replied almost instantly.

“Do you mean Physically or Mentally?” He thought sarcastically. Apparently his thoughts hadn’t been well contained. He would have covered his mouth if he didn’t know it was too late. Yamaguchi looked like he’d just kicked a puppy and Kuroo looked surprised that the words came out of his mouth period. Honestly, he was too. Kuroo was silent for a second before he reiterated his question more seriously.

“One more time, What’s going on?” Tsukishima had a dismissive response ready but Yamaguchi didn’t give him a chance.

“He didn’t eat lunch.” Yamaguchi blurted out intentionally. Tsukishima glared at the freckled boy but just received one in turn. Yamaguchi wasn’t going to back down on this. At least he picked the least personal thing to divulge. Kuroo sighed disappointed and reached into his volleyball bag. He tossed him an energy bar of some sort and gestured to it when Tsukishima looked back at him. Yamaguchi looked back at Kuroo curiously.

“We have one of those too. Kenma refuses to eat and then gets hungry during practice.” Kuroo opened his bag up more and showed them a few other bars in a side pocket.

“I always carry extra’s with me now.” He zipped the bag closed and Tsukishima noticed the contemplative look on Yamaguchi’s face.

“Don’t you dare.” He said but Yamaguchi just smiled at him.

“I’m totally doing it.” Tsukishima groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. Despite his annoyance, he opened the wrapper and started eating the energy bar idly. 

“Now with that aside.” Tsukishima felt his wall slide back into place. He glanced at Yamaguchi subtly but he only gave him a soft look.Tsukishima hated how he could reassure him with his eyes. But if Yamaguchi wasn’t backing down on the eating thing, he wasn’t baking down on this. 

“Tsukki...You trust us right?” Tsukishima realized he didn't have to think to find an answer to that question. Somehow that freaked him out more than anything. He looked at the two people in front of him and realized he trusted them. He clenched his fists and nodded. He saw them both smile slightly. 

Tsukishima couldn’t believe he was actually going to talk about this. 

“Anything I say never leaves this room. Understand.” He glared at them but it seemed pretty ineffective against them. They nodded and Tsukishima looked at what's left of the food bar and set it aside.

“You already know the story.” He nodded at Yamaguchi and his face dropped and nodded again. Kuroo looked back and forth between them again. 

“My older brother played volleyball in middle school. He was the ace of his team. I went to all of his games. Back then, Karasuno was in its first hayday so that's where he went in highschool.” He felt the feeling start to bubble up again. 

“He never even got to step on the court.” The anger in his voice even surprised himself. 

“But he came back everyday talking about all of the spikes he hit or the points he scored.” Kuroos eyes widened a bit and Yamaguchi sat next to him. He knocked their knees together and smiled slightly when Tsukishima looked at him. Yamaguchi always knew when he needed grounding. In some ways, Tsukishima thought he was more observant than himself. 

Like he could make sense of the statistics but Yamaguchi could see the people behind them.

“I couldn’t understand why anything would warrant that, It’s just a game. Why would he put all that effort into lying to me. Why go through any of it for a  _ game _ .” He hoped they didn’t catch his slip-up. Tsukishima hated how Kuroo’s eyes stared at him like he just put together a puzzle. He sat in front of him on the floor, leaning his back against the shelfs. 

“Couldn’t?” He asked quietly. The question made Tsukishima cringe. It was the one he was dreading but knew was coming. Of course he caught it. 

“I get it.” He said quietly and Yamaguchi startled next to him. 

“I get what Bokuto meant, What you meant.” Tsukishima dropped his head, not looking at either of them.

“I’m not Hinata. I don’t have boundless energy or that unwavering spirit. But I- I don’t want to leave the court…” He pushed his glasses up, pressing his hands to his eyes.

“And no matter what I do I can’t get it-  _ this feeling-  _ to go away!” Yamaguchi wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s not going to be ripped away. I won’t let it. I promise” He said into his shoulder. Tsukishima tried to believe him, but promises can’t change reality. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s setting himself up for heart-break. 

“You don’t have to make it go away, Tsukishima. Grab that feeling. That other shoe you think is going to drop, it’s not going to.” When he looked at him he saw Kuroo looking at him resolutely. Yamaguchi nodded as he hugged him. 

“If Kageyama ever suggests to bench you again I  _ will  _ punch him.” Yamaguchi said seriously. It tore a laugh out of his throat. Everyone thought that Tsukishima was the dangerous one, but get to know Yamaguchi and you’ll realize that’s not true. Yamaguchi was protective of friends like no one he’d ever met before. Getting him mad was like asking for a death sentence. Tsukishima always had sharp words but that was nothing compared to a punch in the face. The green haired boy was quite strong when he wanted to be too. Kuroo laughed as well.

“Finish that energy bar and lets head back to the gym.” he looked back at Tsukishima as he spoke. Practically asking if there was anything he wanted to talk about. Tsukishima just rolled his eyes and took an exaggerated bite of the bar, looking Kuroo straight in the eyes. Yamaguchi snorted and got up, offering a hand to him. As they left Tsukishima stopped in front of the door. Yamaguchi took one look at him and slammed the door open, drawing all attention to himself. Kuroo noticed the meaning behind it and smirked. Tsukishima smiled and Kuroo nudged his shoulder. 

“What?” Tsukishima replied simply.

“So... what about that problem?” He smiled mischievously and nodded at the freckled boy currently tearing into Kageyama.

“One word and I’ll bring up your setter.” Tsukishima stepped into the room quietly, watching how everyone's eyes were drawn to the boys in the court. Tsukishima smirked at Kuroo as he walked by to his side of the court. Kageyama’s face looked terrified and Tsukishima laughed. He stepped back when Yamaguchi stepped forward. Even Nekoma was snickering from the display. Coach Ukai seemed to notice him step into the gym but luckily just smiled and sent him back to his position on the court. Yamaguchi finished his tyrant and walked back to the sidelines, his face red and glare strong. Tsukishima took in the faces of his teammates with satisfaction. Kageyama looked haunted, Hinata looked back and forth from Yamaguchi to Kageyama with pure terror on his face. What amused him the most was the fact that Daichi, Suga, Nishinoya, and Tanaka all looked rather impressed and proud. He could have gone without the sly look the libero sent him though.

He stepped up to the net as Tanaka stepped back to serve. His head still hurt but it was more of a dull ache rather than the sharp pain it was before. Maybe the energy bar did help. Or maybe it was the fact he felt lighter emotionally than he had in years. Kageyama shuffled a bit closer to Tsukishima, his hands still held up in front of him.

“S-Sorry.” He said quietly and Tsukishima smirked. Yamaguchi sure did a number on him.

“Don’t apologize. It's weird. " Kageyama smirked as well and the two of them got their heads back into the game. Tsukishima saw Kuroo tease him from the back row. 

  
  


'Oh you're so getting blocked smart-ass.' Tsukishima thought as he looked back. 

**Author's Note:**

> !!!Bonus!!!:  
> Yamaguchi brings energy bars to school everyday now and Tsukishima always accepts them (He can't say no to Yams). The next Nekoma practice game both Kuroo and Yamaguchi turn to Tsukishima and Kenma respectively and throw them an energy bar to eat. Everyone found this very amusing. Especially how both of them grumbled about it as they stuffed their cheeks. Because of it a sorta of mutual agreement appeared between Kenma and Tsukishima where they complain about their overprotective friends.


End file.
